Monument Valley Hubris



It has been suggested in some quarters that, following the tentative election results of this Tuesday as well as the resignation of the Sec. of Defense, I should redact my previous pessimistic outlook. I am not going to do it, because now that the Democrats have supposedly "won" the elections, things look bleaker than ever.

I am reminded of nothing so much as the Road Runner and the Coyote. The Road Runner liked to play with the Coyote, allowing the Coyote to feel as if he had the upper hand, allowing the Coyote to believe that whatever new ACME death trap the Coyote had devised was indeed going to succeed in crushing the elusive bird. And every single time, the Road Runner slipped out of the trap in just such a way that the Coyote was clobbered by his own device -- hoisted upon his own petard, as it were, only in this case the petard was usually a four-hundred-ton atomic-powered magnet designed to drop gigantic boulders from southwestern mesas.

If you can't get the metaphor, the Republicans are the Road Runner, and in place of the Coyote we have the hapless Democrats ready to assume the burdens of power. What the Democratic party needs now is discipline, focus, strength of character, resolve, tactical aggression and strategic patience. None of which have ever been particularly popular values for Democratic politicians to possess. Where is the Tip O'Neill rising up from the ranks to ride herd over an unruly mass of agitated liberals? Nancy Pelosi? If you listen closely you can hear the President's whisper echoing softly across the Texas prairie -- "Meep meep."

In a way, it would have been better if the status quo had remained -- at least then we wouldn't all be worried about just when the other shoe was going to drop, and what it was going to be. The Republicans have this amazing way of making it look like they're on the retreat, when really, the Democrats are really just chasing their collective tails. Every concession made by the Republicans is simply just a tactical gaslight, lulling us into a false sense of security. When all is said and done, it's George W. Bush who shall have the last laugh, because he always does. The Democrats will end up hanging themselves -- it's only a question of how much rope.